ORGANISATION

Degussa Novara Technology s.p.a. (NTECH) is a fully owned subsidiary of Evonik Degussa GmbH Germany. Until 2003 it was a Joint Venture between the former Gel Design Engineering (GDE) and Degussa GmbH . The company name reflects the name of the Italian city Novara near Milan, where it is located.

Origin
In 1992 a team of researchers and private investors founded GDE with the objective to develop the sol-gel technology for the production of silica glass. GDE optimized several procedures to adapt the SiVARA® Process to a whole range of silica glass and sol-gel Applications. The activity included the participation to European Community founded projects in the field of planar optics.

Partnership
In October 2000 the company NTech was formed. This integration with Evonik Degussa GmbH, one of the worldwide leaders in specialty chemistry and a major producer of fumed silica and special oxides, means to NTECH a strong support from the raw material base up to the engineering layout of the licensed plants.

Aerosil® (fumed silica) and Dynasylan® (tetraethoxyortosilicate, also known as TEOS) are the essential raw materials of the SiVARA® Process, and are both produced and distributed on a global basis by Evonik Degussa.

NTECH’s and Degussa’s cooperation allows the development of tailor made solutions regarding process and raw materials.

Expertise
The team of researchers of NTECH have been working together since 1987. The quality of its work is well known and has been recognized, in year 2000, when NTECH’s scientific director Lorenzo Costa received the prestigious “Giuseppe Borgia” award from the Accademia dei Lincei, the highest Italian assembly for culture and science. The innovation of the process is documented by several patents.

Resources
NTECH has 15 direct collaborators in its operative team, mainly involved in research, development and technology fine tuning activities. Company functions not directly involved with the previous activities are outsourced.

The R&D activities are carried out in a laboratory equipped to characterize both the process and the resulting materials.

Further development and technology tuning is done in NTECH’s Industrial Development Center (IDC) where the current equipment can fabricate prototypes of up to 55 cm in height and 30 cm in diameter. In the chemical sector of the IDC can be processed chemicals suited to produce up to 12 t/ year of silica glass.

Degussa Novara Technology s.p.a. via Fauser 4 , Novara , Italy - phone: + 390 321 699 000 - fax: + 390 321 699 040
e-mail: info@novaratec.com